Kickoff fundraiser set for Democratic group

Former Hillary Clinton campaign adviser Kiki McLean is hosting a kickoff fundraiser in Washington on Thursday night for the Southern Progress Fund, the political group that aims to elect more Democrats in the South.

McLean and her husband, Joe, are hosting the event. The speakers will include another former Clinton adviser, Burns Strider, as well as Southern Progress Fund founder, former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove.

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Also at the event will be Virginia Attorney General-elect Mark Herring, a Democrat who was backed by the group. He was certified as the winner by 165 votes, but Republican Mark Obenshain has requested a recount that is set to begin next week.

Democrats have seen their influence wither in the American south in recent decades, and the Southern Progress Fund wants to reverse that trend, especially at the state and downballot level.

Also listed as hosts of the event are longtime Clinton adviser Harold Ickes and his business partner, Janice Enright, Clinton adviser Minyon Moore, and Julianna Smoot, a fundraiser for President Barack Obama.